Scots entrepreneurs ‘learned how to do business’ at school

THE MAJORITY of Scotland’s entrepreneurs cut their enterprise teeth while still at school, with around a third of them delivering newspapers, a new survey revealed today.

Many were also competitive at sport, were an only child, or had no formal educational qualifications, the Living Business Survey 2005 by the Royal Bank of Scotland found.

Overall, it discovered that 84 per cent of Scots currently running their own business had worked to earn extra cash when they were still at school, matching entrepreneurs like Kwik-Fit founder Sir Tom Farmer, who cleaned cookers and sold milk before quitting school at 14, eventually building a £1 billion business empire.

RBS said: "The drive to earn money and be self-sufficient starts early within the Scottish small business community."

JIM STANTON
DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR

Full Story: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=189312006